Powered and sponsored by www.proformracing.com

Main menu

Post navigation

Afternoon all. A couple of lovely results yesterday with Mischief Maisy getting very well backed from 20’s into 10’s and getting a very good ride to win. That may well be the limit of her ability but we bagged it on the good day. Mister Bob drifted all day right out to 10/1 then duly did the business too so good results all round. Refulgence is finally, off the list.

Just a couple to note that are running this evening.

7.30 Newbury – Loaded – 9/1 Generally – 1pt win

I think he’s a nice horse and potentially a bit better than his opening mark of 82 suggests. At Chester last time I think he hated the undulations and looked certain to want a bit further in time. A few of these have already played their hands in handicaps where as this lad looks cherry ripe for tonight.

9.10 Newbury – Siri & Severus – 25/1 & 16/1 2x 1pt singles.

A couple to play against the field in the concluding handicap on the card. You have to be forgiving for both last runs but I’m happy to do so. Siri messed about in the stalls at Carlisle, got restless and missed the break. They went no real pace and she was always on the back foot and not persevered with. She is better than that and can prove it tonight. I’m astonished she’s 25/1, if you watch the video back from Sandown the time before she was desperately unlucky not to win what was a better race than this.

Severus hated the heavy ground over a mile at Newmarket last time and drops back to seven on fast ground this evening. He travelled up strongly to a point that day and today should suit much more. They are both rated 72 but with the allowances Siri gets 8lbs off Severus so I slightly favour her. Play them both against the field of largely exposed beasts.

I know, I know… it’s been like forever. I’m over it, hopefully you are too.

A rare summers day off today and a couple of horses have popped up on the tracker that I feel I should probably pass on for you today from my recent video analysis.

MISTER BOB – 7.45 Kempton. 8/1 with Betway/Betfair.

He was a rather large eye catcher when we last saw him at Wolves on 31st May. A race where they went no pace at all which didn’t help this hold up beast. He’s handicapped to win and with that having blown away any cobwebs he looks sure to run a big race tonight if he is wanted. They should go a good gallop here which will help with Starcrossed likely to go forward and Music Man also a prominent racer helping to push things along, we should get a good gallop to run at. Ted is on board which is not great so we may be watching through our fingers again close home. If he’s ready and the gaps come he’s well worth backing.

Dalavand – 3.10 Yarmouth – 13/8 Generally

Has been on the radar to pick up a small handicap for a while. Drops into a very weak seller today and you’d be desperately disappointed if he didn’t win.

Mischief Maisy – 3.30 Lingfield – 20/1 General, massive on BF.

She’s just one to follow, maybe for 3/4 runs. She has more ability than her mark will suggest and a step to a mile and a half looks a good thing. She was given a very interesting ride at Brighton last time. Worry today is they may have too much pace for her around here but she is one for your trackers and small stakes. Especially in place markets etc. She’s likely to go in at a massive price at some point.

Refulgence – 3.40 Yarmouth – Any price you like?

She’s been in my tracker for ages, for one reason only. It’s looked to me for a long time like she wants middle distances but Marco Botti has kept her to a mile up until now. She nearly sneaked in last time (head in hands moment) at 25/1 but just failed to get there over the extended 8.5f at Wolves. First attempt at ten furlongs today, so she’s on the list, unless she gets beat!

Spending such an enormous amount of time on the road as a broadcaster means that days, weeks and months just seem to fly by. I cannot believe we are already half way through May, the first test match of the summer is two days away and the longest day of the year just four weeks from now. Where has the time gone?

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great year to date? Backing loads of winners and generally rolling in it. I know I haven’t blogged, well at all since my last promise in September. Lots gets in the way. Mostly laziness I’m sure.

Personally I’m not a big fan of racing in April. Year on year it is my worst month. Once Cheltenham is done with, the jumps falls off a cliff and the early season turf form can be so erratic, even if certain trends to tend to produce profits each year. I enjoy Chester and York, but once they are out the way, all the patterns tend to settle down and we can really crack on.

As things stand there are 79 horses on my very interesting list. I won’t bore you with all of them in one hit as that will take all day, but over the coming days I will certainly highlight the ones that are entered and why they have gone in the book. You can then all take your own personally views on how to deal with them. First up here’s a few that are entered today.

FLEURTILLE (4.40 Newcastle) 28/1

Probably a horse that should have been scrubbed off my list a while back, but I’m just going to see how today pans out. Clearly we have no idea how Newcastle’s new all weather track will ride but a lot of her peak figures were at Newcastle on turf. She’s down to near her last winning mark and after a quiet 2015, it will be no surprise to see her run well. The comeback run was encouraging although her one run on the all weather (albeit 3 years ago) was awful. She’s likely to be a massive price, probably 50’s+ on @Betfair so you haven’t got to spend big to have a tiny interest.

GERRY THE GLOVER (4.10 Newcastle) 16/1

Had a good year last year and progressed nicely. I think he is better than 88 and might win a decent pot this summer. First ever run on the all weather today which is a bit of an unknown but he actually ran ok on a track that wouldn’t suit his style on his re-appearance and I would not be at all surprised if he went well today. He is probably another one for your trackers and will hopefully grab a decent pot this year. He’s 25’s plus on the machine so again, small stakes for an interest. There is a chance that the favourite (PERIL) is still well ahead of his mark.

LAUGHTON (3.15 Nottingham) 9/2

I really like him. If he doesn’t end up considerably better than a mark of 71 by the end of the year then I’d have got him completely wrong. You can easily put a line through his comeback run. He was pitched out wide and in truth given a poor ride. I’ve felt for a while like 6 furlongs will suit more than 5 and Nottingham will be much more to his liking. Clearly I don’t want Jamie Spencer to give the others too much rope, the dogs are well and truly barking about Mutarajjil but you should never be afraid of one animal. I believe he could be a 90+ horse so if that is the case, you would hope he could go very well today at this level. Probably an absolute each way steal at 9/2.

Others to note…….

Mr Haggas made no bones about how he felt about Fadillah in an interview at the Craven meeting. She won her maiden over a mile three weeks ago when the penny dropped late on. The third from that race absolutely bolted up at Chester and with the step up in trip she is likely to laugh at her opening mark of 76 before going to the Oaks. If you like her for Epsom back her this morning as she will only shorten if she’s impressive.

That is just a taster of where we are at today. Will update you all with plenty more over the coming days.

Evening one and all. I have decided for longevity purposes that if I come up with some shit once a week then I can get all it all out in one go instead of trying to get some daily bits and pieces up whilst on the road.

This will be a lot broader than previous blogs. So no specific bets as such for you punters but each week I will certainly give you the details of all the weeks eye catchers, with full reasoning as to why they should be followed, which in turn should give you plenty of winners. In the short-term I really don’t see this having a negative effect and crashing the price of said runners so until that starts to happen it will be all good. I will touch on any other racing matters of interest and indeed anything sport related that needs airing.

I will also at some point in the next week be discussing Proform. Simon and the team are in the process of making some excellent additions to not only the software, but also the only race guides and two new projects for the upcoming national hunt season. Amazing to think that we are already starting to think about Cheltenham.

Ok so on to the eye catchers. This is how I operate. My meat is all flat handicaps (turf & AW) from 5-12f. This gives me a specific area to work on. Although I do watch most other racing this is not the area I will concentrate on. From each weeks video study I can add anything from 1-50 horses on to the interesting list. I rate each entry with either 1, 2 or 3 stars. 1 star is where a run/ride has caught my eye for any reason. 2 is a strong interest. 3 stars is simply a must follow and back next time.

I will give all the 3 star eye catchers every week and then give a mention to the others if I feel appropriate. This gives you the chance to stick them in any trackers you may have and keep your eyes on entries.

This weeks 3 stars:

RATEEL – James Tate

Three runs in maidens spread out over the summer and beaten similar distances in all of them meant an opening handicap mark of 67 for a nursery at Chelmsford on 3rd September. The first time hood was applied which meant he was keen early on but having travelled really well turning for home he got into a tight spot and the leaders had gone. I’m not sure that Chelmsford will really play to his strengths and the handicapper took note and has raised him 2lbs for that run. The fact that he had the hood on and he’s lost his nuts already suggest that he is clearly a character but I am very confident he is better than 67 and should be followed over the coming weeks. He has no current entries.

MOONLIGHT SONATA – Sir Michael Stoute

Beaten favourite on his return in April before winning a weak class 5 maiden when stepping up to a mile and a half at Lingfield in August. That resulted in an opening handicap mark of 80 for a ten furlong contest at Bath on 2nd Sept. Cue a Ted Durcan special. I honestly to this day don’t know how he has got that job. He is currently head to head with James Sullivan on the Lester’s tactically inept rider of the year award. There were only seven runners at Bath, but Durcan took every wrong choice and ended up getting trapped on the inside before switching out late doors (when leaders had gone) and flew home. First off, she is clearly well handicapped (been raised to 82 for that run) and when she steps back up to a mile and a half plus she could be potentially thrown in. She is beautifully bred and Sir Michael wouldn’t persist if he didn’t feel he could get a good deal out of her. There is a case for saying that with time she could be a three figure horse over staying trips.

She should be followed closely. Especially in handicap company. Jesus if Ryan was fit she would be a mortgage job next time over a mile and a half. As I write this she has no entries.

ROOSEY – William Haggas

One to get the old tummy tingling this. I am absolutely convinced this son of acclamation is a stakes horse. Currently rated 93 he ran a cracker at York (6th September) when not getting the best of runs and finishing fourth. you can put a line through the run at Newmarket as the ground went against him and he raced away from the action. Previous to that he finished behind Magical Memory (since run a blinder in the group 1 Sprint Cup) also at HQ. Both of those runs suggest to me he has a big run in him off 93 when getting quick ground. He had several entries at Ayr this week which I’m sure was the target but the ground has gone against him. The worry could be that he is not certain between now and the end of the season to get ground that will suit. He may well be held back by Haggas for next year. There is a possibility he could run on the all-weather as there would be valuable options for him on All-Weather finals day at Lingfield. He must be followed with interest, preferably on quick ground. Again as things stand he has no entries.

CARTMELL CLEAVE – Stuart Kittow

Ted Durcan episode two. This one was probably even worse. A rapidly improving sprinter for Stuart Kittow who really should have won at Ascot on 5th September. He was running all over his rivals through most of the race and would have won had Durcan not been texting and riding at the same time. this was off 90, having bolted up off 82 the time before at Newmarket. I don’t think I’m telling you much that most people didn’t see at Ascot. He seems to handle any ground with form on all types of ground including the all-weather. With that in mind there should be several possibilities before the end of the year. I do like sprinters in form so I hope the next run is sooner rather than later and I would be even more encouraged should Kittow opt for a very good apprentice. I would imagine there is a sprint handicap at Ascot first weekend of October which will suit. Follow him and his entries. At this stage he has none.

BIG TIME – David Nicholls

A one time very smart colt that was 5th behind Kingman in the Irish Guineas. His peak rating was 114 when with John Joseph Murphy. Over the last 16 months his form has kinda fallen off the face of the earth but he caught my eye in the entries when I noticed he had been switched to Nicholls ahead of his run at Haydock on 4th September off his new handicap mark of 89!

Well if that pricked my attention then the run pricked every single part of me and jizzed all over the room. He travelled really well through the race before being angled back to the inside behind runners (cheeky) and was not touched with the whip in any shape or form. You don’t often see horses that you think should go back in trip but the way he travelled and his back class suggest to me that Dandy may have the same idea. We all know how much of a dab hand he is with his sprinters. The handicapper who had clearly had a lovely afternoon also took the opportunity to drop him another 2lbs to 87.

He could be a long-term project. He could also be gone at the game. There was more than enough at Haydock for me to think he is a clearly well handicapped horse that Nicholls could win some very nice pots with and fingers crossed that run has fallen way under the radar.

He was entered at Ayr this week but didn’t go through with that engagement which I think is wise. He is hot property in my book and should be followed with real interest.

No current entries.

MERCY ME – John Ryan

There will be no surprise to some that the final three star eye catcher this week was ridden by Adam Kirby at Kempton 9th September. She won a handicap at Leicester at the start of the year off 71 and has steadily dropped back down the weights. This run came off 72 where she was steadied and trapped four wide for much of the race (nice) then mad a move all the way around the field as they turned for home. The front two had long gone (and are both very progressive for the grade) whilst once Kirby gave her a smack, she took off. Once realising that she was going to make significant progress, Kirby stood up in the irons as she couldn’t win by then.

The handicapper was watching an episode of Eastenders at the time and has kindly dropped Mercy Me another 3lbs to 69 on the back of that. Party time is surely just around the corner.

She has no current entries, but should be followed over the coming weeks. She though is the classic case of a horse that could be a huge plunge.

That is all for this week’s three stars. Here are a selection of 2 stars to keep an eye on.

MALLYMKUN – Karl Burke

Dropped from 71 to 58 and after a good third behind Maymyo (won again since) she blew the start at Wolverhampton on 5th September before running on to get 2nd. She was pretty well backed that day suggesting that she is ready to win. Interesting. No entries.

GRAVITY FLOW – William Haggas

A rare maiden eye catcher. The word was out before her debut but she completely fluffed her lines at the stalls. Once the penny dropped she absolutely took off and was only beaten a quarter of a length. She is entered at Kempton on 21st September (Fillies Maiden) and should take a lot of beating.

DISTAIN – Lady Cecil

Very well backed prior to run at York (6th Sept). Missed the break and was being bumped along from a long way out. Still showing significant signs of greenness. Once the penny dropped again she took off out wide shaping like a step back up in trip will be ideal. She is entered in a fillies handicap on Saturday 19th and will win.

GET KNOTTED – Michael Dods

Given a poor ride at Thirsk last time that can be ignored. He is progressive and shouldn’t have stopped winning this year. Entered on Saturday at Ayr in a race his trainer does well in.

ORION’S BOW – David Nicholls

Dropped to a really tempting mark and absolutely tanked to the front at Thirsk 5th September before getting tired late doors on soft ground. He is entered on good to firm up at Hamilton on Sunday 20th Sept and will be very interesting up there off 71.

Hopefully that gives us plenty to get our teeth into. I will be back after the weekend with an update.

Morning all. I hope today’s blog finds you well. Hopefully you are not a pound overweight and haven’t dispensed with your slippers in order to do todays correct weight. I have had to lose the shoes, bag, trousers, shirt, underwear and I’ve still been jocked off. Seriously what was Seb thinking? Have an actual full day off today which means you know the cricket season is coming to an end! I will be slouched on the sofa for a lot of the day watching the ODI and keeping my eye on events at New Road as we cheer Sussex to victory in the LV=County Championship. Obviously I want Sussex to stay up, but also tipped up Worcester for relegation. A win for Sussex today/tomorrow is close to a double whammy! I will also be finishing off my jumps horses to follow which I’ll be sending out soon.

I’ll kick things off with a few stats from Proform. Simon and the team are holding training seminars on the Proform software throughout the Autumn at various locations around the UK. You can find all the details on the website if you click on the Proform logo it will take you directly there.

Here are a lost of trainers that have exceptional win and place strike rates over the last 14 days:

Jed O’Keeffe 87.50%

Iain Jardine 70%

John Ferguson 68.75%

Jose Santos 66.67%

Saeed Bin Suroor 65.38%

M O’Callaghan 60%

One note of caution on those stats are that although Jed’s runners are running very well. He hasn’t had a winner but 7/8 have placed at prices ranging from 9/4 to 16/1. Three of those runners traded odds on in the run too. He has Desert Ruler entered in a couple of nurseries over the coming days who could be interesting. Iain Jardine’s horses are running well and he has Push Me entered in the 3.55 at Sedgefield today. He’s been pretty well backed but would need a career best. Still interesting to a degree.

Good card at Salisbury today but I found it hard to eek out any value anywhere. I do think that MELODIOUS is worth backing in CGA “PERSIAN PUNCH” CONDITIONS STAKES at 4.50. She gets weight off the favourite and with the step up in trip arguably going to bring about a bit of improvement, there is a case to say she could be favourite herself. Flying officer is 8/11 and she is 15/8. Well worth backing at that price.

I’m quite keen on the chances of STAR RIDER (6.45 Chelmsford) for Hughie Morrison. She loved the surface at Chelmsford when winning her maiden. She has hinted a few times on turf that she is still potentially better than her current mark and this is the weakest race she has run in this season. Back here with Charlie Bennett claiming 7lbs I think she is potentially on a really nice mark and is well worth a go. She is readily available at 5/1.

They are the two for me today. Be back tomorrow with more bits and pieces.

I’ve started to plough through the NFL markets as we close in on the start of the regular season. I thought I would pick out one or two of them as we look for some involvement. A small overview of things will kick things off.

Firstly in the Superbowl market the Seahawks are ridiculously short and should be readily opposed. The acquisition of Jimmy Graham has meant that a small shift towards a throwing game had been the focus. The correlation between Graham and Wilson in pre season thus far has not been great. I’m sure they will sync up and be productive, but moving away from the running game is a negative in my opinion. Max Unger going the other way in the trade with New Orleans is a big loss too. All of the negatives for me are on offense but no doubt their defense is still top 5 and will keep them in games but they are no way a 9/2 shot.

The two most complete sides for me are Green Bay and Indianapolis. The loss of Jordy Nelson for the cheese heads is a huge blow. He is the most consistent receiver in the league. Yet another pre season ACL injury. I still think they are the most likely winners and are priced about right. The news that Randall Cobb got injured Sunday was a worry although that doesn’t sound serious. That is of course biased as he is my main fantasy receiver.

Indy will be very good on offense. Luck has so many weapons. For the Colts a deep run will rely on how much the D has improved. Will be in the shake up for sure. New England are the Champs and will be there or thereabouts. Brady might miss games, he may not, that will be resolved soon enough. Even without him they will be 4-2 at worst when he returns. Big players and rookies alike just adapt to the way Bill runs the acquisitions. Coral have stuck their necks out and put the Pats up at 10/1. They are however 14.5 on Betfair………. I’d take that in a heartbeat over the 9/2 about Seattle.

In the 10/1-20/1 range you have the Broncos (12/1), Cowboys (16/1) & the Eagles (20/1). If you could bet just on this range we would all be rich! They are completely the wrong way round to me. Philly have made some super signings. Demarco Murray is the new running back, Sam Bradford (torn ACL) has just recovered and moved from the Rams to be starting QB. Just before he got hurt I thought he was bordering on becoming the new Brady. I think he is class. His accuracy is absolutely smoking! The big question about Bradford is going to be his fitness. Can he get through sixteen regular season games? We saw last year just how difficult that is for a QB trying to recover from ACL injuries in Washington when RG3 got hit low more times than a cheap Winmau arrers board.

Dallas are Dallas. Over rated chokers.

I think that even the most hardcore Denver fan might be watching most games from behind the couch this year. Manning just cannot throw deep anymore. The dink and dunk method works to a degree until you do what Indy did last year, stacked the middle of the field and you have nowhere to go. Rumours that they will be a run first team this year with complimentary throws means that they will be getting boos after all the three and outs from weeks one from the home not so faithful. Don’t get me wrong Denver will still win a lot of games, but they are more a 10-6 team than the 15-1 team from two years ago.

To sum this range up I think that the 20/1 about the Philadelphia Eagles is too big and they are a definite bet in the outright market. I don’t think the 20’s will last. On the back of that they are top price 17/10 to win the NFC East. This looks a one horse race to me and is absolute maximum bet in spades. If you have a spare ten grand to be locked up for 4 months then steam in. General 6/4 chance.

Of the remainder the teams that are likely play off contenders that are big prices are as follows:

Pittsburgh Steelers. Big ben has a lot of weapons and they will put up points for sure. D needs to improve on last year but they will win a lot of games. They are a general 28/1 chance. The Buffalo Bills have the potential to be one of the most improved teams in the league. They are a general 40/1 shot. The Minnesota Vikings are set for a better season. Adrian Peterson is cleared to play, has bulked up and looks immense in what we have seen pre season. He is an absolute stonking bet to have most regular season rushing yards at 5/1 in my opinion. If he has a quick start he could be odds on within 5/6 weeks. A lot of real shrewdies in the game believe that Teddy Bridgewater is all set for a break out season too. I like the Vikes, they are in a tough division though but I expect them to be in the wild card hunt for sure.

Last but not least we have the St Louis Rams. A team I think are on the brink of greatness. I cannot believe they traded Bradford. With him at QB I thought we were looking at play offs at the very least. They are young and hungry. Their defense is in my opinion probably the best in the league. I’ve never been Jeff Fisher’s biggest fan but what he has done there is certainly working. The D will win them a lot of games alone and I think they might make the play offs. The trick plays that won the game against the Hawks last year were top quality. I wouldn’t put it past them wining the division ahead of Seattle. I would certainly have them in front of Arizona. Although I do think the Card’s will be slightly better this year. The Rams are 9/1 to win the division and you will back many many worse 9/1 shots in your lifetime. They are 65/1 on Betfair in the outright market.

I have already touched on Peterson in the player markets, he should be backed as should Calvin Johnson who has been largely ignored in the market after his injury hit season last year. Megatron is a general 8/1 chance to have most receiving yards and again could well trade an awful lot shorter than that. I will be backing both and putting them in a double.

SEASON BETS:

My main bet for the season will be to back the Eagles to win the Superbowl at 20/1. As a Redskins fan that is just about the hardest thing I have ever written! I will also trade several other teams on Betfair in the outright market so that I have a potential very green book come the play offs:

Philadelphia Eagles 3 pts win @ 20/1

New England Patriots 2 pts @ 14.5

Green Bay Packers 2 pts @ 8.0

Minnesota Vikings 1 pt @ 50

St Louis Rams 1 pt @ 65

Philadelphia Eagles to win NFC East – Maximum bet at 17/10.

St Louis Rams to win NFC West – 1 pt @ 9/1.

Adrian Peterson most rushing yards – 2.5 pts @ 5/1

Calvin Johnson most receiving yards – 2 pts @ 8/1

The Peterson/Johnson double pays 54/1 and will also get 2 pts in the bid for an absolute smash up!

I’m sure I will come across quite a lot more before we get underway so I will update nearer the time.

Morning all. It’s been a rocky 8 days to be a West Ham United fan once again. The opening day win at Arsenal has well and truly evaporated from the memory having lost to two teams you really should be beating. I missed the Leicester game so I can’t pass too much comment on that but I was at the game Saturday and it wasn’t pretty viewing.

First off our formation was wrong. This I understand is partly due to the injuries in the squad. The decision to play Nolan was a poor one. He is massively out of his ground now. He spent most of his time on the pitch, huffing and puffing two or three yards behind everyone else. We were at home against a newly promoted side and surrendered possession constantly by lumping the ball towards Nolan, who was strangely further forward than Sakho most of the first half. When either Nolan or Sakho were winning the header (approx 10%) there was no one within thirty yards of them to pick up the second ball. We played with absolutely no width whatsoever and it didn’t bother Bournemouth at all. We played well for the first ten minutes of the second half then very quickly pressed the self destruct button.

Bournemouth started brightly. They are newly promoted and will thrive on big away days like this. They were buzzy, quick and to be honest much smarter than us almost all over the pitch. The worry I would have for them is that we can’t really play much worse than we did and yet we still scored three goals. That may be their undoing this season. Both the first two goals have to be the responsibility of Aaron Cresswell. The first one he got turned inside out on the wing, the second a strange touch back towards goal. I really hope that all the praise he has received hasn’t gone to his head. He needs to buck up quick and get back to his best.

If I am going to criticise the left back then I don’t know where to start with the right back. Carl Jenkinson was woefully off the pace. Got caught in possession several times, was at fault for the third goal and then proceeded to give away the penalty for the fourth, receiving a red card in the process. This opens up a huge issue. Stood right next to me most of the game was Guy Demel. Guy was released by the hammers at the end of last season. Whilst he doesn’t fit the picture of where we are going forward he is a much better second choice than O’Brien, who will probably now deputise for the banned Jenkinson. I spoke to Guy and he doesn’t have a club, although he has a few appointments this week. We could do a lot worse than re-sign him on a short term three month deal to ensure we have some sort of cover other than Joey.

Sakho worked hard up front but was so isolated it was always going to be a tough ask for him. Mark Noble was non existent for most of the game. This is a real worry. The biggest issue is I don’t think we won a second ball throughout the whole game. The Cherries absolutely out run us in midfield. Slavan missed a trick when he replaced Ogbonna with Tomkins after the two goals. He should have replaced Nolan with Tomkins, switched to 3-5-2 and pushed Payet on. You are at home against a newly promoted side and two goals down after twenty odd minutes. No need to panic. Address the situation, change formation and start again.

Matt Jarvis came on and again looked lost. Since the purchase of Jarvis for 10 million from Wolves (who will be funding the Christmas party for the next hundred years on that) we have almost always played him on the left. He doesn’t have the pace to get past the last defender and whip a left footed scorcher into the box. He always cuts back inside and then floats it in the box. It is so frustrating. Is this coached? He also spent a lot of the second half on the last man when the ball was down the right and being lumped forward. Bit like a garden gnome trying to out-jump giant haystacks that one.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Cheikhou Kouyate ran his butt off and was by far our best player. There were also glimpses of the brilliance of Payet but he barely had the ball at his feet all afternoon. When he came on, James Tomkins was outstanding.

No need to panic. Just re-evaluate. Get our strikers fit as soon as possible. We need to sign another asap too. I have a feeling that when the pressure is off away from home and we can counter attack quickly we will seem to play a lot better. At home, we have to play more attacking. 4-4-2 is a must in my opinion. We cannot let a newly promoted side like Bournemouth come to Upton Park and have 55% possession.

I’m sure we will bag three points at Anfield on Saturday and all will be forgiven!

Morning one and all. I hope and trust all is well and that you’ve all been smashing in winners left right and centre. After a dismal day hosting Sussex vs Essex on Wednesday in the Royal London Cup (not due to the cricket, but due to the weather) I finally managed to get back on the horse on the racing front in the last 24 hours or so. Had a good go on Tasleet in the opener at York yesterday. My main bet of the day though was on the Godolphin filly Mistrusting in the last. After her win in the four runner handicap at Newmarket last week I’d convinced myself that she was a potential group horse. I think the way she travelled through the race yesterday lead me to believe that again, it was a nervy last 100 yards but she held on well, possibly just idling in front.

I have started going through the videos, so within a few days we will have a nice big bank of eye catchers and horses to follow. Before we get on to today’s racing, just thought I should give a mention to the test match. It is a really flat pitch. A typical five day Oval pitch. The Aussies showed yesterday that if you get through those early overs, then the afternoon is normally a batters paradise. The next two days are set for very good weather, then there are storms and rain forecast for Sunday and Monday. The draw is available at 7/4 in places this morning. Providing England bat well later on today I cannot see this being anything other than a draw. I think the prices are wrong. I’ve backed the draw. If today follows a similar pattern to yesterday, then I expect the draw will be about 4/7 by the close of play. Tradetastic for all you that like to “cash out”.

I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I can’t click a race replay on RacingPost.com whilst looking at a race. The basic membership is about £14 a month now, and £26 if you include all the tipping pages. Cannot imagine that anyone is paying for that. I use the basic package but only due to the fact that all of my notes are stored on the database. Once I upgrade my office computer, I think I many well transfer all my notes onto the Proform database so that it’s all in one place. Taking the videos off the website I’m sure is a big mistake.

Found the opening race at York difficult. Plenty of possibilities, but nothing that leapt out for a bet. I don’t have a strong opinion in the Yorkshire Cup either. I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone of them won to be honest.

First bet of the day will be Richard Pankhurst in the Sky Bet City Of York Stakes at 3.05. I know he’s only had two starts and has had 426 days off since winning the Chesham last year but that was a really taking victory, one that suggested he was going to be better than listed class. He is in great hands and I’m sure he’ll be ready. He is a general 13/2 chance this morning, if that had been at this years Royal Ascot he’d be 6/4 so I think he represents value and if he is anywhere near his best; I think he’ll be really hard to beat. I will be having a small saver on Short Squeeze. He was given one of the rides of the season in a big handicap here last year by Smullen and he is back on board today. Whilst he is probably better at a mile, there is a good chance this will be frantic. Salateen, Toocoolforschool and Glory Awaits all have double figure pace figures on Proform so I’m expecting a strong gallop and this brings Short Squeeze into calculations. At 12/1 I’ll be saving on him.

On to the feature race of the day the Nunthorpe at 3.4o and I cannot get away from ACAPULCO. She ran to a topspeed figure of 110 at Ascot. Only Muthmir (111) has run anywhere near that this season. She gets a 24lb allowance from her elders here which whatever way you look at it makes her very very hard to beat. Tactics may be important. There is the smallest chance things could get to her jockey Irad Ortiz Jr, who is not guaranteed to get the best of receptions from the patriotic’s. The Nunthorpe is a race that can throw up an odd result too. All things said, I honestly could’t go against her. I hope she wins. Whether she is bankable at 2/1 or not I’ll leave up to you. She might go in a multiple.

I’ll jump to the evening card at Wolverhampton for the next interest. BUSH BEAUTY (8.20) is mildly interesting in the class 6, 6 furlong handicap. Normally better over slightly longer she needs a real test at six to figure but I think we may well get that tonight as Cloak And Degas, Captain Future, Bosham and Indian Affair all like to rattle along. We have to forgive the run last time but she has never shown much on turf. Back on tapeta she is drawn in stall 2 so Rachel Richardson can just pop out and take her time. If they go stupid up front then she will be a big player when they turn for home. She comes out top on the PROFORM ratings by some way too. She’s 10/1 in places this morning and must represent a fairly good each way bet.

At Sandown in the opener I thought KOMEDY(2.20) may be interesting. She has a piece of form (debut) that would make her particularly interesting off an opening mark of 64. Her last run in a maiden certainly smacked of “nursery type” and the yard are in much better form than earlier in the year. I’ve had a small interest on her at 7/1.

On a totally separate note, the Redskins went 2-0 in pre-season last night after beating Detroit 21-17, that unfortunately though does not tell the story. The first two quarters, the offensive line decided not to block for RG3, he got hit 7 times and sacked 3 more. He ended with a busted shoulder and a concussion. This is clearly unacceptable and this needs to be addressed as soon as possible. We moved the ball with ease once Colt McCoy came in. It was all too similar a story to last year when RG3 was in. The pocket was collapsing with ridiculous ease. I hope there is no skulduggery going on.

For the first time I’m starting to think that it might be time to trade him as there are clearly some trust issues within the team.

Well it has certainly been a while since the last time I rambled on. The cricket season as always takes up my time in the summer. As well as my frequent visits back to my second home in Zante. Unfortunately, the knee injury I’ve been ignoring for a year has finally taken its toll and I am pretty much done. Waiting for a specialist appointment which I’m told will take 6-8 weeks. We all know the actual spread is 16-18.

My coverage of racing has taken a back seat as per usual over the main summer months. Which is probably not the best idea considering my flat racing far outweighs my jump racing analysis. Looking forward to tackling the racing again with some gusto into the back end of the season and into the all-weather (the boos from the back of the room can be heard all round).

The first thing I’ll touch on will be the beloved West Ham. Overall I have to consider the summer a slight success. Whilst a lot of know it alls will say we were mad to part company with Allerdyce, they are also the people that don’t watch us week in week out. His gusto had gone. We started last season playing much better football, attacking with gusto and going after the better teams. Whilst I knew we wouldn’t sustain our top 4 place, to drop away like we did with such timid and poor performances it was clear the time had come. There were times in his reign that Sam got things bang on. The 3-0 win at White Hart Line was a touch of managerial beauty. There were other times when we had no plan B, selected weak teams because he felt we couldn’t win the game. He also relentlessly picked Kevin Nolan, which meant we had to play 4-5-1 to accommodate his old legs, which other teams worked out and took full advantage of. Nolan is his prime was a master at reading the game and knowing where to be. Last season, he was unfortunately way off the pace. The fact no side (even championship) has shown any interest in him says all you need. He will be Big Sam’s assistant in his next job (NAP).

So we move onto the Bilic era. I think he was the right choice for now. I like his ethos and attitude towards the game and what he wants to achieve at the club. I couldn’t give two hoots about playing kids in the Europa League and an early exit. Means nothing. English teams that get in to the group stages have terrible records in the Premier League. Our sole concentration, should be on going to the Olympic Stadium next year on the back of a top ten finish and progress. A massive positive is the signing of Payet from Marseille. He looks a classy player with the ball at his feet. He can beat a man with trickery, pace and strength. His assist stats are phenomenal. Everyone saw at the Emirates last week what an asset he is going to be. Very pleased with the additions of Obiang and Ogbonna. My one criticism would be that on the back of Enner Valencia’s injury news we should have gone and got a striker straight away. Sakho is streets ahead of the others but cannot play alone all the time. Who knows if Carroll will be back, when he’ll be back and how long he’ll last.

I still think we have the basis of a good squad and I really hope that a top ten finish should be doable comfortably. There are some really very average sides in the league this year. If Sunderland don’t finish bottom I’ll be shocked. They were a disgrace on Saturday. Players walking all over the pitch. Watch Cattermole for the 2nd goal. He don’t care.

Cricket hasn’t been too enjoyable over the summer. Whilst I’m very much at the back end of my career we are playing the highest level we ever have down at Rottingdean. It shows. We are 4/5 players short of where we need to be in all honesty. Playing for a year on dodgy knee ligaments has all but done me in. For Sussex again it’s been disappointing. Thought the squad looked capable of challenging in the Championship this season but they have been poor. Managed to get to the quarter finals of the T20 Blast largely down to Luke Wright, but again a poor home performance (said that on repeat the last two years) meant defeat. Let’s just hope having Chris Jordan back for the final few games means that they can have enough fire power to leapfrog Worcester in the table and stay up.

The positive about the cricket season coming to an end means that the NFL season is just a few weeks away! 25 days to be precise. Literally cannot wait this year. I will run a blog on a season preview at some point in the coming months. Could be all change this year. The Seahawks look like they are going to try and throw the ball. The Patriots have plenty of new faces and don’t look like they’ll have Brady for the first 6 weeks (still be 5-1). The Packers look very good, as do the Colts. There are a couple of cracking bets I’ve lined up at bigger prices but I’ll touch on them another day.

With regards to the racing. I’m hearing from Proform Racing towers that a brand new feature is being prepared for the upcoming jump season called the Cheltenham Trail. It will preview up to 80 of the major races that lead to your Cheltenham Festival bets, with facts, figures, stats and trends. Looks a cracking development and I will give you more details as and when they come through to me.

Looking forward to York this week. The Juddmonte looks an absolute belter with Gleneagles taking on Golden Horn. Time Test is no back number either. Should be the race of the year so far. Very much looking forward to seeing Acapulco in the Nunthorpe. She looked an absolute beast at Ascot and gets more allowances than the cast of benefit street. She might break the track record. Gutted that for the 3rd year in a row I can’t go. Bad planning on my part. I’m hosting Sussex vs Essex on Wednesday then on Coral TV duties the rest of the week.

I must end this edition with a note to my beloved pal Bryn Jones who we tragically lost in a car crash in Zante at the weekend. So many fond memories I wouldn’t know where to start on talking about them. He was an infectious character that just made life great. He was my neighbour for a few years with his Mrs Cat, who for the record is just nothing short of a diamond. My heart goes out to her and all of their family. Bryn was 29 and a massive hammers fan. We went away together and always bumped into each other at Upton Park. We were together just a few days ago celebrating beating the Arsenal and being general boys amongst a crowd of gooners. The Zante family has shown themselves to be nothing short of remarkable in their efforts to support Bryn’s family. Saturday was a particularly tough day. Being so far away has not helped. Rest in piece pal. You know that every time I ever sing bubbles I’ll be thinking of you. Now have a word with the big man upstairs and get us in the Champions League.

Just a couple to note today. The first of which I’m quite keen on a big price. I like the chances of Divine Call (5.45 Wolverhampton) who has been running ok in similar races without troubling the judge. Again last time out here he was only beaten 2 lengths in the end despite being last turning for home. Under both of his last two rides I scribbled “would be very interesting under Baker” and hey presto! George is riding today. He will be patient, he will probably need some luck and will certainly need a pace to run at but with Spowarticus in the field, coupled with several young riders, I think they might go a real good clip. If they do and George can time things right then he is surely overpriced off a mark that is 6lbs lower than his last winning one. There are obvious dangers but Risk N Reward has been winning at Southwell and needs a career best on a track he hasn’t sparkled at so happy to take him on. I thought ITALIAN TOM might be the main danger. He has dropped to a very dangerous mark and is probably worth monitoring. All in all Divine Call looks a real interesting each way bet at a swanky price.

DIVINE CALL – 2pts each way @ 12/1 with Bet365 & WilliamHill

The second horse I will back today is LAST SHADOW (2.30 Kempton). Won off 105 on reappearance at Uttoxeter back in November before an average effort off today’s mark on New Years Day. That was right in the middle of Jonjo’s cold snap and with the yard absolutely thriving over the last few days it is not hard to see him continue that potential promise of improvement today.

LAST SHADOW – 2 pts win @ 7/2 generally.

Of the remainder well it will be great to see WEST WIZARD back on course this afternoon. He has hinted on both occasions that he has been beat that a step up in trip might be the making of him. He is 33/1 for the Neptune this morning, that might look a very big price come 2.10 this afternoon. I hope he wins really well. Elsewhere I thought THE FRIARY was very interesting up in trip at Bangor (3.15). Whilst at Wolverhampton tonight I liked the look of TOP COP in the opener (5.15) as there is plenty of pace on there and he might just sit and pounce down in grade. Steve Rogers should win again up in trip and Cookie Ring ran better than the form suggests last time. Stepping up to seven should suit him and he is the least exposed in that race.

All in all good to have a full day’s racing back. Let’s hope George can pull all the string s later on!